Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness: It can be very confusing to navigate the several loan forgiveness options if you are a teacher with federal student loans.
Nonetheless, being aware of the prerequisites and qualifying standards may assist you in selecting programs that might be a good fit for you.
Options include state-sponsored student loan forgiveness programs, teacher loan forgiveness, public service loan forgiveness, and the cancellation of teacher Perkins loans.
Eligible teachers who have worked five full and consecutive academic years as teachers in low-income schools or educational assistance agencies may be eligible for loan forgiveness of up to $17,500 on certain federal loans under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) Program.
This covers both Federal Stafford Loans that are subsidized and unsubsidized, as well as Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans.
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Requirements
Many requirements must be satisfied in order to be eligible for TLF.
First and foremost, as of October 1, 1998, or the date on which you applied for a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after that date, you could not have had an outstanding balance on any Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans.
You also need to have worked for five full and consecutive academic years as a highly qualified full-time teacher, at least one of which had to have been after the 1997–1998 school year.
Additionally, the teaching experience you provided had to be at a low-income student-serving elementary, secondary, or educational assistance organization.
If certain requirements are met, such as finishing at least half of the academic year and fulfilling the employer’s contract requirements, a teacher’s year of absence from teaching that was prevented from being completed due to illness or military service may still be counted toward the required five years of teaching.
Make sure the school or educational service provider where you worked is included in the low-income category.
The Teacher Cancellation Low Income (TCLI) Directory, which is released yearly by the U.S. Department of Education, can be used to verify this.
Additionally, the maximum amount of forgiveness differs according on the subject matter presented.
Highly qualified secondary school math and science teachers, as well as highly qualified special education teachers, may be eligible for loan forgiveness of up to $17,500; other qualifying elementary or secondary school teachers may obtain forgiveness of up to $5,000.
You can apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) by sending a Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application to your loan servicer after completing the necessary five years of qualifying teaching.
It is imperative that the chief administrative officer of the school or educational service agency where you completed your qualifying teaching service fill out the certification portion of the application.
